The present invention relates to apparatus for dispensing liquid soap, normally in discrete small quantities or charges. More particularly, the present invention relates to refillable liquid soap dispensers having an "anti-bootleg" feature, i.e., a dispenser designed so that it can be refilled only with soap from a particular type of refill cartridge.
The present invention is an improvement of the soap dispensing system disclosed in my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 719,924, filed Sept. 2, 1976, now abandoned, and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, the disclosure of which copending application is incorporated herein by reference.
In the dispensing system of my aforementioned copending application, the liquid soap container is refilled by inserting the neck of a plastic squeeze bottle into a well in the top wall of the container, a closure membrane across the end of the bottle neck being pierced by a solid piercing member in the well, whereupon the liquid soap could be squeezed and forced through small apertures in the bottom of the well communicating with the interior of the container. But the squeeze bottle was sealed by a thin membrane across the outer end of the neck, where it could readily contact foreign objects during storage or shipment and handling, creating a danger of accidental puncture of the membrane and consequent leakage of the liquid soap from the squeeze bottle.
Furthermore, this prior arrangement was such that it necessitated liquid soap contacting and accumulating on the bottom wall of the well. Particularly upon removal of the squeeze bottle a certain residue would necessarily be left in the well and, while this residue might eventually drain through the openings in the well bottom, it would tend to dry up and clog the openings in between refills and, at the very least, would leave an unsanitary deposit on the well bottom.
The Brandt U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,121, a copy of which is filed herewith, discloses a refill injection bottle for refilling a pressurized spray container. But Brandt is not concerned with the "anti-bootleg" function. He discloses a bottle having a neck insertable into a well on the container, the neck being plugged with a stopper which is pierced by a hollow tube in the well through which liquid would flow readily by gravity, except for the presence of a check valve in the pressurized container. The Brandt "well" is completely external of his container and his plug is at the outer end of his bottle neck, susceptible to contact by foreign objects. Furthermore, the stopper for Brandt's squeeze bottle is a relatively thick member 66, and it appears that the hollow tubular perforating member 50 might tend to core out of the stopper a small core of material which would, in turn, plug the hollow perforating member or, at the very least, seriously impede the flow of liquid soap therethrough.